"Ossetians: Location: Caucasus Mountains between Russia and Georgia (Ossetian territory); Population: 564,000 (1989); Religion: Orthodox Christian; Muslim "; "Prior to the adoption of Christianity or Islam, Ossetians celebrated an active & ancient pagan faith... Contemporary religion was adopted by Ossetians relatively recently, in the mid-19th cen. Most Ossetians adopted the Orthodox Christian faith. However, a significant minority, between 15% to 20%, adopted Islam... While both Christians & Muslims celebrate the major holidays of their religions, many pagan customs have remained part of the religious practices of both groups. Thus, Ossetian Christians & Muslims have similar, uniquely Ossetian celebrations surrounding the events of death & marriage... Sometimes, families will slaughter a lamb or sheep at the shrine in honor of Wastyrji. Most villages have similar shrines... "

"Jodo-shin-shu: Jap., lit. 'True School of the Pure Land' [distinct from Jodo-shu ('School of the Pure Land')]. The short form is Shin-shu (Shin school). A school of Japanese buddhism that was founded by Shinran (1173-1262) but first organized as a school by Rennyo (1414-99)... The Jodo-shin-shu has no monastic aspect; it is purely a lay community... Today the Jodo-shin-shu is the most important school of Buddhism in Japan and consists of 2 factions: Otani & Honganji. The main temples... are in Kyoto. This division took place in the 17th century... Both factions maintain large universities. "

The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ), [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year]; pg. 646.

Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 "; "Other religionists. Incl. 70 minor world religions and a large number of spiritist religions, New Age religions, quasi-religions, pseudoreligions, parareligions, mystic systems,etc. "

other

Africa

90,000

0.01%

-

-

1996

The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ), [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year]; pg. 654.

Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1996 "; "Other religionists. Incl. 70 minor world religions and a large number of spiritist religions, New Age religions, quasi-religions, pseudoreligions, parareligions, mystic systems,etc. "

other

Africa

68,000

0.01%

-

-

1998

World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999). [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year]; pg. 695.

Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 "; "Other religionists. Including minor world religions and a large number of spiritist religions [although 'Spiritists' listed separately], New Age religions, quasi-religions, pseudo religions, parareligions, religious or mystic systems, and religious and semireligious brotherhoods of numerous varieties. "

"Location: Angola; Population: 11 million "; Pg. 28: "Angolans are extremely Christianized with nearly 7 in 10 (68.7%) people identifying themselves as Catholic and 19.8% as Protestant. Traditional religion is practiced by 9.5%, and other religons make up the remaining 2.0%. "

"While the majority of the population of Armenia (about 94%) are members of the Armenian Apostolic Church, there is also a small community belonging to the Russian Orthodox Church. Apart from that, there are Yezidis who practice Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam, and small community of Jews. "

other

Aruba

9,000

-

-

-

1996

1997 Britannica Book of the Year; pg. 781-783.

Table; "other " = not Roman Catholic

other

Asia

98,000

0.00%

-

-

1995

The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1997 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ), [Source: 1996 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year]; pg. 646.

Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1995 "; "Other religionists. Incl. 70 minor world religions and a large number of spiritist religions, New Age religions, quasi-religions, pseudoreligions, parareligions, mystic systems,etc. "

other

Asia

100,000

0.00%

-

-

1996

The World Almanac & Book of Facts 1998 (K-111 Reference Corp.: Mahwah, NJ), [Source: 1997 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year]; pg. 654.

Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1996 "; "Other religionists. Incl. 70 minor world religions and a large number of spiritist religions, New Age religions, quasi-religions, pseudoreligions, parareligions, mystic systems,etc. "

other

Asia

11,000

0.00%

-

-

1998

World Almanac and Book of Facts 2000. Mahwah, NJ: PRIMEDIA Reference Inc. (1999). [Source: 1999 Encyc. Britannica Book of the Year]; pg. 695.

Table: "Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-1998 "; "Other religionists. Including minor world religions and a large number of spiritist religions [although 'Spiritists' listed separately], New Age religions, quasi-religions, pseudo religions, parareligions, religious or mystic systems, and religious and semireligious brotherhoods of numerous varieties. "

"Assyria is located in north Mesopotamia and spans 4 countries: In Syria it extends west to the Euphrates river; in Turkey it extends north to Harran, Edessa, Diyarbakir, and Lake Van; in Iran it extends east to Lake Urmi, and in Iraq it extends to about 100 miles south of Kirkuk. "; Pie chart: "Chaldean 45%; Syriac Orthodox 26%; Church of the East 19%; Other 6%; Syriac Catholic 4%. "

"sampled population consists of persons aged 16 years and over from all federal electorates throughout Australia, excluding the Northern Territory... This poll is based on 2128 interviews conducted over the first two weekends of June 1983. "; Question: "WOULD YOU MIND TELLING ME YOUR RELIGION? "; response categories: ANGLICAN; CATHOLIC/RC; PRESBYTERIAN; UNITING/METHODIST; BAPTIST; OTHER CHRISTIAN; NON-CHRISTIAN; OTHER NON-CHRISTIAN; NO RELIGION [The choices provided for the answer were all branches of Christianity. So 'other' here represents all people who are not Christian, and did not answer 'no religion'. This would include Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. Only 1.8% of those surveyed would NOT provide an answer to this question, and another 107 respondents are listed in results as 'not established'. Total unknown: 3.29%, but those are not included in this 'other' total.]

"Location: Bahrainis; Population: 518,000 (1992 estimate) "; "At least 94% of the Bahraini population is Muslim. About 70% are Shi'ite, and 24% Sunni. A small percentage (5%) of the population is Christian, and the remaining 1% is Hindu, Jewish, Baha'i or other faiths. "

"95% of the Bolivian people are Roman Catholic... Protestant denominations include the Methodist Episcopal church, the Baptists, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Judaism and Islam have a small number of adherents... Est. 1990 pop. - 7,300,000... Est. 1993 pop., 7,969,000 "

"95% of the Bolivian people are Roman Catholic... Protestant denominations include the Methodist Episcopal church, the Baptists, and Jehovah's Witnesses. Judaism and Islam have a small number of adherents... Est. 1990 pop. - 7,300,000... Est. 1993 pop., 7,969,000 "

Heinrichs, Ann. Brazil ( "Enchantment of the World Second Series "). New York: Children's Press (1997); pg. 95-96.

"Religious of Brazil: Roman Catholic: 89%; Protestant: 6.6%; Other (Spiritism, Afro-Christian sects, etc.): 4.4% "; "Non-Catholic Christians in Brazil are growing in numbers. They include Anglicans, as well as Protestant denominations such as Lutherans, Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians. Evangelical Protestant groups are gaining members much faster than mainstream congregations... Brazil's Japanese people practice Shinto or Buddhism. Members of the Lebanese and Syrian communities follow Islam or Maronite Catholicism. Jewish, Baha'i, and Mormon faiths are among Brazil's other religious minorities. "

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